Judge dismisses lawsuit against Santa Cruz Biotech

SANTA CRUZ -- A judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed against Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc. alleging the company abused and neglected goats and rabbits.

Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Paul Marigonda dismissed the suit filed by the national nonprofit Animal Legal Defense Fund on behalf of an organization called Stop Animal Exploitation Now after ruling that the local court was not the proper forum to address it.

Noting that the USDA has filed several complaints against the company for reportedly mistreating animals since 2007, Marigonda ruled the federal agency was the most appropriate place to address the issue.

Santa Cruz Biotech, as it is known locally, supplies antibodies and other research materials to laboratories around the world. Last year it was ranked as the second-largest supplier in the United State's $1.6 billion global market for research antibodies, according to the journal Nature.

The company operates a 44,000-acre animal research facility housing more than 12,000 goats and 8,000 rabbits, according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund. The company, which employs 51 to 200 people, according to its LinkedIn profile, raises the animals to harvest their blood to create research materials.

Attorneys for the Animal Legal Defense Fund said they were disappointed by the ruling.

"We definitely think it was the wrong decision," said staff attorney Matthew Liebman. "There's no question the animals are suffering. This court decided to push it off on the federal agency."

Liebman said the organization's next step will be deciding whether to appeal the ruling.

The USDA has inspected Santa Cruz Biotech's facilities numerous times during the past six years, and filed numerous complaints alleging the company failed to protect the animals from trauma, overheating, excessive cooling, stress and physical harm. Other complaints allege that inspectors discovered animals that were malnourished, had untreated skin conditions, respiratory ailments and untreated wounds. One of the most recent complaints was filed in December, when USDA officials cited the company for failing to disclose 841 goats it kept at a separate location about nine miles away from the main facility on the Westside. That complaint was lodged just months after USDA inspectors accused the firm of 20 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

A message seeking comment from officials at Santa Cruz Biotech was not immediately returned.